Cooperate Less and Compete More!

Put on your big kid pants because I’m giving it to you straight. There will be no political correctness, and some of my close friends will disagree with what I am about to say. The “Law of Abundance” is some what broken – or at least it can break you.

Alright, before everyone holds hands around me in a circle singing kumbaya, let me explain.

Yes, there is enough out there for everyone.
Yes, you can get a lot from cooperating.
Yes, being friendly and professional is a must when it comes to every aspect of your business!

But somehow this common sense and decent approach to business has gone too far. You absolutely can and should…

1. Tell people how you are different
2. Tell people how you are better
3. And ultimately compete to win more business

And yes, this might just mean that if you are winning the business then someone else is losing. Yes, losing! And guess what? That’s okay! This is a free capitalist market. Find out what people want, and give it to them. We should all learn from our losses and become better organizations.

Who here wants to create an “unfair competitive advantage?” Every one of you should have said yes!

• Coke isn’t in a mastermind group with Pepsi
• McDonald’s doesn’t share a booth at a convention with Burger King
• Apple doesn’t send out emails for Microsoft

There is a time for cooperation and creating synergy. Just don’t blur the lines and lose track of who your competitors are. I believe in friendly competition. I believe in personally complimenting people on their success. Of course, I also believe in the “Law of the War Chest.” People only have so much money in their war chest to fight the battle of day to day business building.

Thanks to the banks, credit lines, and the economy that war chest has shrunk significantly. You are competing for that hard fought for treasure that is now locked up and vigilantly protected.

The key to balancing cooperation and competition is focusing on others that are truly complimentary. Who knows who you want to know? Who reinforces what you do and sell? Cooperate less, Compete more, and focus on Complimentary.

Your Business Would be Better if Your Brand was Better

A “Brand” is the sum total of all the experiences people have had with any person, place or thing (products and organizations are things). Yes, people and places have brands too. Obama has a brand, Vegas has a brand, Mother Theresa has a brand, Miami has a brand, Elvis has a brand, and even China has a brand.

These brands were built over time based on what the majority of people experienced. Of course key people and media with big megaphones can also overshadow what the majority feels. That’s why endorsements, celebrity spokespeople, commercials and regular media appearances are so valuable. So what is your brand? What are people experiencing with you, your products or your organization?

Your business would be better if your brand was better. In order for this to happen you have to go out of your way to interact with people every where, you have to share, you have to give, you have to serve and above all you have to stand out from the crowd. You must interest people and more importantly you must fascinate people.

Sometimes this requires you to be controversial or even to shock people. Other times you will have to share personal stories and experiences. New concepts, strong communication and the cool factor all go a long way in developing a strong brand. The method combination you need all depends on what you want your brand to be.

People are buying your brand. Again, whether you like it or not, people are buying your brand. So what are people buying from you?

I’ve dedicated years of my life to making people, places and things Icon’s in their industry. Here is the best of what I have learned about Icon Building packaged in a really easy “Top 3 To Do” checklist of things you can do day in and day out that will make you more profitable.

1. Build a Golden Rolodex – Wow influential people who have a strong following. Keep their contact info handy and review your top 50-100 people weekly. I like to keep the best ones on a highly visible whiteboard in my office. Break these people up into categories. Focus on the ones that have their own radio shows, TV shows, or large email databases. Don’t forget those people that have high amounts of traffic to their websites, thousands of Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers, and Linkedin Connections. Do what ever you can to add value to their life. This one thing has helped positively promote and control the destiny as well as the profitability of my business more than anything else.

2. Develop Your Core Stories – People as a majority want to know your story, the story of your organization or the stories of your customers or clients. You must record these stories, testimonials, and case studies. This personal approach and social proof goes a long ways towards inviting people experience your movement. More than ever people want an organization with personality and heart. People don’t want cold heartless organizations that they can’t relate too. Video, Audio, Articles, Blogs, Social Media postings, and Power Point presentations can all help you convey these core stories.

3. Manage Your Online Reputation – More than ever people go to the internet to learn about you, your products and your organization. The good news is that it is very easy for you to put out great things on the internet…especially if you are doing number 1 and 2 well. The bad news is that it is relatively easy for people to say bad things about you, your products and your organization…even if it’s not true. You must continually communicate online and research your self like anyone else might. The world is quickly transitioning from everyone needing a website to everyone need a really good website that is an interactive ongoing commercial stocked full of social proof and cutting edge technology and automation.

BEWARE! All 3 of these things are part of an ongoing journey and never a destination. Companies, organizations, people and places with once stellar reputations for decades can all face unrepairable disaster over-night.

Just remember, if you want to improve your business, just improve your brand!

PS My Icon Branding Bootcamp www.iconbootcamp.com will cover all this in great detail Friday March 9th 9am-9pm in LA. There is even a bonus day on March 10th that you won’t want to miss!.